Gerald Lidstone BA MA ATC Dr h. c. FRGS

Staff details

Gerald Lidstone BA MA ATC Dr.h.c FRGS is the Director of the Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship at Goldsmiths, University of London and founder of the MA Arts Administration and Cultural Policy and co founder of the MA in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship programme and the MA in Cultural Policy, Relations and Diplomacy, the first worldwide.

Previously he was HOD of the Department of Theatre and Performance in Goldsmiths, having originally trained as a scenographic and lighting designer as well as a production manager with extensive design and touring experience in Eastern Europe and the USA. For the British Council and other agencies he has also taught Arts Management courses including, Arts Marketing, Arts Education, Fundraising, Copyright and Strategic Planning in over 20 countries.

He has worked for over twelve years on behalf of The Ministry of Culture and Information in Viet Nam establishing Arts Management education in Hanoi University of Culture, funded by the Ford Foundation, well as being awarded the national medal for culture in Viet Nam. He was also the director of a four-year British Know-How Fund (Foreign Office) project establishing arts management education in Slovakia. An outcome of this was the publication of the first book on arts management in Slovak and the British Council project Closer to the Museum.

He has recently completed a major research evaluation of a dance projects for Sadler’s Wells in the UK using the Five Ways to Wellbeing framework created by the New Economics Foundation.

Member of ILT (Institute for learning and Teaching in Higher Education ) 2001

Fellow of Royal Geographical Society

Pearce Prize for Teaching Goldsmiths College 1997

Time Out award for theatre production Soundings London New Plays Festival 1993

Research Interests

Most recently he has evaluated the NESTA Creative Pioneers Academy and written a report on cultural organisations in Odessa, Ukraine as well as undertaking professional seminars in Kiev and continuing work on cultural industries in Viet Nam.

Building on experience gained in Eastern Europe examining and analysing arts and cultural policy in the post communist context he co authored the first book on arts management in Slovak and has recently contributed to www.blizsiekmuzeu.sk. This in turn has led to a current project for the Ministry of Culture and Information in Viet Nam funded by the Ford Foundation to develop an infrastructure for arts, heritage and cultural management education to adapt to the new policy of social, economic and political reform under the rubric of doi moi ('renovation'), aimed at transforming the old command economy into a market-based one – this has now been running for 9 years and has published two major reports. In the UK he was responsible for the annual (1997– 2001) report of the West End box office data research project, for the Society of London Theatre (SOLT). He has also published many papers on areas of arts management and policy.

A Review of the Structure of the Theatre Company of Cyprus THoC [ the National Theatre] Lidstone, Gerald and Morris, Gerri 2002. A commissioned report to facilitate the restructuring of theatre provision in Cyprus across all sectors.[confidential]